Nutrition status and feeding practices of children below two years in pastoralist and crop farming communities in Mvomero district, Tanzania

A Dissertation 2019This study aimed to determine nutrition status, nutrient adequacy and feeding practices of infants and young children among pastoralist and crop farming communities. A cross- sectional study design was adopted. A total of 348 caregivers of children between 0 to 23 months old were randomly sampled from Dakawa and Lubungo in Mvomero district, Morogoro region. Among these, 206 caregivers were from crop farming and 142 were from pastoralist communities. ProPAN standardized research tools and procedures were adopted for data collection. Socio-demographic and feeding practices information were collected using caregiver survey. Semi-structured interview and opportunistic observation were conducted to collect qualitative data. Quantitative data from caregiver survey and 24- hour dietary recall were processed using ProPAN software in which descriptive statistics, t-test and Chi-square test were done by SPSS version 21 software. Qualitative data from semi structured interview and opportunistic observation were manually analysed using the ProPAN matrices. Finally, qualitative and quantitative data were integrated qualitatively to identify facilitators and barriers to ideal feeding practices. Relatively high proportion of crop farmers (66.5%) initiated breastfeeding within one hour after delivery compared to about 35% in pastoralists. Pre-lacteal feeding was more common among pastoralists (37%) compared to crop farmers (22%). Plant-based foods were the most common complementary foods reported. There was inadequate intake of calcium, iron, zinc and vitamin A from complementary foods in both populations. Limited knowledge on infant and young children‟s nutrition needs and cultural restrictions which forbid consumption of some nutritionally dense foods were among the barriers to optimal infant and young child feeding practices. High proportions of children in pastoralist than in crop farming community were underweight and wasted. Stunting was 34% in crop farming community and 32.7% in pastoralist community. To promote optimum feeding practices in both communities, stakeholders should consider planning programs on educating community while addressing cultural specific barrier